"My name is Lotus." The words rang out in his mind like a gun shot. What are the odds that he would meet a person that looked quite a lot like the visions he had been having and have the same name? Raven just shrugged it off for now and got to the task at hand of helping this wolf change her flat tire on her car. "This must be your lucky day lady, I happened to be on my way home and wasn't in any hurry to get somewhere." he said as he tried to strike up a conversation with her. "Well I don't know how lucky I can be with getting a flat tire but I am certainly glad for help." she said while looking him over. The fox didn't notice it but Lotus was eyeing him in a peculiar way, almost as if studying him and looking for something special. "You said you were on your way home Raven?" she asked him "Thats right, I just had to go another mile before being at the yard and then home is only about 15 minutes from here for me." he said as he took the tire off the hub and went to grab the spare.

"Oh so you live here in town?" "I only live about 20 minutes from here myself." she said in reply as Raven set the spare and tightened down the lug nuts before lowering the jack and finishing up getting the tire on and stowing the flat tire. "There we are Lotus, you are all set to go here." he said as he closed the trunk and smiled at her. "Thank you so very much for the help, tell you what, why don't you come over to my house tonight for dinner. I'd like to show my gratitude for all your help." Raven, not one to turn down a good meal, especially from a good looking woman, smiled and accepted. "That sounds good to me, eating out of truck stops all the time makes you really look forward to a good meal at home." he says while giving her a sly grin. Weird visions or not, he was going to take her up on the invitation and who knows where it could lead to. They both exchanged addresses and Raven watched Lotus drive away, clearly catching her lookiong back at him in her rear view mirror as she drove off down the road "Well no time like the present to get going, I got a date tonight!" he said as he hopped in the cab and headed on down the road.

Steam was rising off the pots in the kitchen as Lotus set to work getting dinner ready. She was going to make it special tonight to not only say thank you to the nice fox who stopped to help her but also find out if he was "right" for her. "Oh if I had only known it was going to be that easy to find one, I would have hoped for a flat tire months ago." she said as she stirred one of the pots, her mind thinking things out. In what seemed no time, dinner was ready and just like that, there came a knock on the door. Lotus answered and there he was, her fox guest for the evening, dressed nicely, but not too flashy or over dressed for just a dinner invite. "Welcome Raven, please come on in and make yourself comfortable, I will just be a moment." she said as she let him in and quickly went back to her bedroom to get herself done now that dinner was waiting. Raven looked around the living room, not wanting to be nosy, but, well foxes are curious by nature. "This is a nice place you have Lotus." he said, yelling down the hallway so she could hear him "Thank you, its been in my family for generations it seems." she said as she came out, wearing a nice black dress while putting in her last earring before they both set down for dinner.

The two of them small talked throughout the meal and even though they had only just met, there wasn't much awkwardness in the conversation. The atmosphere was cordial and familiar like two old friends meeting again for the first time in years. In no time dinner was done and they were sitting down to coffee in the den. (I could have said living room, but she is a wolf after all, den seems so much better don't you agree? ;) ) As they were talking, Raven began to notice all of the pictures that were hanging on the walls and the large photo album sitting on the coffee table in front of them. What struck him as most curious were the pictures were all of babies. But they were of different ages, not the children, but the photos. Some looked very old and were tattered and faded, others looked like they were taken more recently. "I couldn't help but notice all the pictures you have on the walls Lotus." "Why are they all of babies?" he asked in an inquisitive manner. "Oh...I just like baby pictures. I used to babysit a lot while growing up and always liked having the pictures of my charges around after to remember them." "The other pictures are of some of my relatives when they were babies. I guess you could say that it became a hobby of mine to collect baby pictures." she said while picking up the photo album and opening it up on her lap. "Here's the next group I will be hanging up once I get the frames." she said as she showed him the book, pointing out the different people in each picture and saying how cute they were." Raven nodded and smiled, in the affirmative, taking the chance to place his arm around her shoulder.

Lotus noticed almost immediately that the fox was trying to put the moves on her, but nor did she mind it anyway, placing the photo album between them on their laps so they could both see them better. The night seemed to go by so quickly as they looked over the album and talked. They both were starting to get tired but neither the fox nor the wolf wanted to be the one to end the evening. Finally after a while the fox let out a yawn, which was an easy way break for the night. "Oh is the little foxy getting sleepy?" Lotus teased him a bit. Raven just blushed and nodded "Well it has been a long day, I guess I should be on my way home to get some sleep." he said to her, both of them holding each others hands at this point in the night. As they both got up and headed toward the door to say goodnight Lotus looked at Raven, a slight twinkle in her eyes. "its been a great evening, thank you again for dinner Lotus, it was a welcome change of pace for me." he said to her as he stepped out onto the landing outside. "It was my pleasure to say thanks for helping me." "Oh that reminds me, I really am terrible when it comes to fixing things around the house, I usually end up breaking something and calling a repairman, would you be so kind as to come over tomorrow and help me with a couple things? I'll make lunch and dinner in payment!" she said with a wink. "Well I got stuff to do around my place...but that can wait. Sure why not!" he said to her. Lotus smiled and leaned forward and gave the fox a kiss on the cheek "then I will see you tomorrow my little helper!" she said as she began to close the door, Raven waving as the door closed behind her.

Raven practically skipped down the sidewalk over to his car. He hadn't felt so happy to meet someone in a long time. His tail was swishing about with excitement as he got into the car and headed on home. A knowing eye watched from the peephole in the door. "Yes, you will do nicely." a voice said as the lights went out in the house.

*Flash!*

Raven didn't even immediately open his eyes this time. He saw that flash yet again and all he thought was "Damn it!" As he started to stir a bit he noticed a few things, one was that there was something in his maw, the other was that wherever he was laying, was nice and warm, and moving ever so slightly back and forth. As he opened his eyes another set was looking down at him. "Did my wittle man have himself a nice nappy hmm?" said Lotus as she smiled and gently rocked the little kit in her arms while sitting in the glider chair. Raven tried to talk but had forgotten that something was in his mouth, and that something fell out but was held on by a lanyard to his onesie. He looked down and saw the baby's pacifier dangling from the cord. "Uh oh did you drop your soother my little pup?" asked Lotus as she picked it up and gently placed it back in his muzzle, his body giving no resistance and in fact as if by instinct began to suckle on it once again. With his body seemingly on baby autopilot, it left Raven's mind the time to soak in his surroundings. He was in the nursery, the changing table and crib to either side of the room gave no doubt of that. That pleasant smell was also in the air again. What was that scent? Then it hit him, it was baby powder! Thats why it reminded him so much of childhood! He began to look up at this wolf that was holding him. "I guess I should just call you mommy from now on, seems appropriate rather than strange dream lady that happens to have the same name as a person I just met." he thought to himself while looking her over.

He could tell by looking now that the 2 Lotuses had to be different people. There were similarities for sure, the face and the coloration for some areas was spot on, but there were others that were distinct to each one. This Lotus seemed to be much younger than the other, she even had a bit of a different scent to her. She smelled more motherly than the other Lotus did. No sense asking Raven how he would know this, its just an animal thing with their more powerful noses. If it doesn't make sense then you write your own story :P The other Lotus just seemed more mature and set in her ways than this one. Not that was a bad thing it was just a subtle difference between the 2 wolves. As he was thinking this he felt her move and stand up, cradling him as she walked over to the changing table and set him down. "Now that a little kit is all awake, we need to get him ready for his bath. Him got himself all sticky from breakfast and mama can only get so much off with a wash cloth!" she said in a cheerful way as she unsnapped his onesie and gently undressed him down to his diaper. She blew a raspberry on his tummy and gave his bottom a pat. "Looks like just in the nick of time too!" she said as his baby pants were in need of a change at this point too. "Well lets get you into the tub little guy! But we'll keep this diaper on til we get there. Don't want to have a telltale trail to clean up on the way there!" she smiled as she scooped him up and held him with her arm under his bottom while leaning him against her shoulder.

The smell of lavender filled the air and the warm water had Raven feeling more relaxed than he could remember. His senses seemed so much more sensitive now as he sat in the bubbly bath water while his mommy gently washed his fur. Being as small as he was now, she washed him in a bath seat, the full bath tub being much too large for it all to be needed. He giggled and squirmed as she washed him, especially when she caught his feetpaws, his most ticklish points. The little kit squelaed with delight, splashing her muzzle in the process, but nothing she wasn't expecting from the infant that was before her. In no time at all she was rinsing him off and wrapping him up a nice fluffy towel as she laid him on a bench that was in the bathroom. A lift of the ankles and a dusting of powder and soon enough he was back into his crinkly underwear while Lotus set to work brushing out his soft and fluffy fur while it was still wet and manageable. "Who's mama's little fluffy foxy?" she asked in cooing way as she tickled in between his paw pads while he sat there on the bench. "You are such a cute little cotton ball when your fur dries out! But mama's gotta brush it now so it don't get all knotted and tangled up!" she said as the little fox smiled and gurgled up at her. His adult mind was still there, but it too was having fun and enjoying this. It felt good to be pampered and taken care of for a change. When you take care of yourself and others all the time, its nice to have the favor returned and he was getting that with interest now it seemed.

After he was all brushed out Lotus carried him out into the den and sat him down on a blanket that had been laid out on the floor. A smattering of different baby toys were scattered on the floor with it as she smiled and turned on the tv to "insert random baby show name here" and sat down to play with her baby. Raven looked around. It couldn't be the same den could it? The pictures were gone from the walls. And where was the coffee table with the photo album?" he thought to himself as his paws picked up and started playing with stacking rings that had been placed in front of him by Lotus. He picked up one of the rings and as if by itself, his arm moved it up to his maw, the young fox gnawing gingerly on the plastic ring. "Aww look at the cute little kit playing with hims toys!" said Lotus as she beamed down with maternal pride as the little fox played.

Raven couldn't help but blush as he was caught gnawing on the ring. His adult mind was just barely hanging on by a thread. It felt as if he was trying to power a light bulb with his brain with how much he needed to concentrate to retain any kind of focus. Yet the longer he tried to focus, the more taxing it became. Lotus leaned forward and lightly poked the kit's belly, causing him to giggle and drop the ring. It was that kind of lapse in concentration that caused the hardest times to get back control. As soon as he tried to focus, there was another tickle assault. The little kit giggled and began to squirm, playfully pawing at the hands that were poking his sensitive tummy. In no time the tickling caused him to roll on his side to curl up, leaving his sides and feetpaws exposed. Lotus kept tickling the little kit as he squirmed with delight from the attack. "Who's a wittle giggly pup hmm?" Lotus cooed as she stopped tickling while the kit panted and giggled a bit as the tickles relented. Raven's adult mind was having just as much fun as the infantile one was. He was ticklish all his life and now being so little, with his senses seemingly more intense, it was no chance for him to avoid the sensations. As he laid there panting he saw Lotus smiling down on him with something in her paws. *Flash*

To be continued....

and it couldn't hurt to see some comments on what you like and don't like in this.